Police prepare to keep Pittsburgh safe during upcoming St. Patrick’s Day celebrations

PITTSBURGH — “Big weekend, big week, biggest week of the year for us,” Dan Regan, the owner of Mullaney’s Harp and Fiddle told Channel 11.

People were already celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day early today at Mullaney’s Harp and Fiddle in the Strip.

The Irish bar and restaurant starts its festivities tonight.

“Everybody looks forward to it... it’s very stressful, but it’s a great time,” he said.

In order to keep his customers safe, and to avoid any issues, Regan has hired a Pittsburgh Police Officer to man the door of the restaurant for Saturday.

“I’m sure people get a little out of hand sometimes and have to be corrected, but we’ll deal with those things as they come up,” Regan added.

Pittsburgh Police will be all over the city — with the parade, events in Market Square, and parties in the South Side.

“The one thing we are going to be doing this year is utilizing our K-9 unit to make sure there’s bomb sweeps being done [in the southside,] downtown, and on the North Shore,” Zone 3 commander Jeff Abraham told Channel 11

Plus, this year, the department set up a QR code. They’re encouraging anyone who sees something suspicious to scan the code with their phone, and then upload a picture or video.

And, despite the recent changeover within the department’s leadership, Zone 3 Commander Jeff Abraham has confidence in his officers.

“The resiliency of police officers is something that shouldn’t be understated. It doesn’t matter what is going on, officers will stand up and be here for 16-17 hours that day, and they’ll be up to that task,” he added.

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